Texas Tech has emphasized recruiting and retaining transfer students with its efforts yielding recognition and results.

Years of work accentuating accessibility, affordability and flexibility have helped Texas Tech University steadily connect with a growing population of transfer students and position it as an appealing destination for completing a degree.

As Texas Tech celebrates National Transfer Student Week, its efforts have been noticed on multiple fronts.

The university just welcomed its largest class which included approximately 3,100 transfer students earlier this fall, and it has been named to the Phi Theta Kappa Transfer Honor Roll recognizing institutions that demonstrate excellence in creating and supporting pathways for community college transfer students. 

Only 275 colleges and universities earned this recognition, which rates institutions on five areas: transfer student success outcomes, credit mobility, financial support, recruitment and admissions practices, and campus engagement for transfer students.

None of which surprises Hensley Harman, an accounting student who transferred to Texas Tech and has subsequently gotten involved in numerous aspects of college life, including serving as an officer in the Transfer Techsans student organization.

“I decided to transfer to Texas Tech when I visited a couple of hometown friends here for a football game and fell in love with the energy on campus,” she said. “I could see myself having that classic college experience at Texas Tech: going to football games, studying with friends and loving where I lived.”

Those are exactly the types of success stories Jason Hale and the enrollment management team love to hear. He said Texas Tech has focused on virtually every aspect of campus life for transfers, aiming to ensure they have a meaningful experience from the first moment they arrive on campus.

“I think it really comes down to the level of support and services that we have been able to provide them,” said Hale, assistant vice president of enrollment management and executive director of undergraduate admissions.. “Placement rates, credits that we transfer in and accept toward a degree, financial support and dedicated staff and teams focused on transfer students. Those are things that have helped set us apart.”

Harman said the ease of accessing resources made her Texas Tech transfer a smooth process. In addition to joining student organizations, she has built relationships with other students, studied abroad in Norway and landed an internship in New York City.

“Starting out, I was nervous that being a transfer student would make it hard to find friends and organizations to join,” she said. “But Texas Tech made getting connected really easy. The amazing faculty and staff here have played an active role in making sure students know about all the great opportunities and resources available, and I have felt consistently seen and supported from day one.”

Hale said Texas Tech has agreements with all 50 of the state’s community college systems. The memorandums of understanding create specific pathways to Texas Tech, smoothing the journey from an associate degree to a bachelor’s degree.

“The university has collaborated with the Academic Partnerships Office, which is part of the Provost’s office in building relationships with every community college in the state of Texas,” said Jason Hale, assistant vice president of enrollment management and executive director of undergraduate admissions. “We want to help students see a clear pathway for completion of their degree.”

Similarly, Texas Tech has articulation agreements with community colleges that allow students in some cases to co-enroll at both institutions and complete course work in specific majors. 

Also, the advising process for transfer students begins before they reach campus, and Hale said Texas Tech stresses transparency and has online tools for students to see how much of their coursework will transfer. Finally, Texas Tech offers the Presidential Transfer Scholarship Program that provides significant financial assistant to transfer students, depending on the number of hours transferring and their GPA.

“We want to be partners with the community colleges,” Hale said. “Success is the number of students who move on from the community college to a transfer institution, so having those partnerships allows us to really help students. They are critical in saying we’re working together and allow us to better serve students.”

Harman said the best advice she could give other transfer students is to take advantage of the resources Texas Tech offers.

“Show up to every event you can fit in your schedule,” she said, “even if you have to go by yourself. I used to be nervous about introducing myself to new people until I realized everyone on campus, whether they’re a transfer student or not, just wants to find their group of people. Take advantage of all the free events Texas Tech offers, and you will find your people quick.”

Continuing to support transfer students and equipping them with the resources necessary for success will continue to be a priority for Texas Tech.

“Students are looking for flexibility, and one of the ways Texas Tech offers that is through all of the online options now available,” Hale said. “A lot of transfer students are working adults, can’t come to Lubbock, and are looking for an online option. We have more than 30 online bachelor programs with eight-week terms, so it’s really flexible and allows us to meet them where they are.”

Texas Tech’s Transfer Connection program continues to evolve, helping transfer students build meaningful relationships to find their place within the university community.

“Transfer students want to see themselves as part of the community at an institution, especially one this large,” Hale said. “Having that peer-to-peer connection with a transfer student who has gone through the process has really helped. It’s not just us telling how supportive we are of students. It’s student testimony; them going back to their community college and helping with recruitment events.”

Harman said transferring to Texas Tech was a more frightening proposition than when she originally started college, but the university exceeded her expectations on every front.

“Texas Tech has allowed me to find my people and thrive,” she said. “I’m beyond grateful for all of the professors, faculty members and friends who have supported me from the minute I arrived in Lubbock. I can’t wait to make even more memories and see what the rest of my time here brings me. Wreck ‘Em.”